


Dana and the Wayne Family Dinner

by yellowstar128



Series: Earth-128 [22]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman Beyond, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/M, Family, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-30
Updated: 2014-07-30
Packaged: 2018-02-11 03:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2051082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowstar128/pseuds/yellowstar128
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dana has dinner with her boyfriend's family. (Year 26)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dana and the Wayne Family Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> Just a note for any car people reading, I may mention cars that aren't actually in production but since this is in the future just go with it.
> 
> Disclaimer: The AU and OCs are mine; the rest belongs to DC Comics.

It was Saturday afternoon and Terry Wayne, second youngest of the nine Wayne heirs, was sitting in a booth at Rhino's having lunch. Rhino's was a popular haunt for the teenagers of Gotham. It was famous for its chili but had all the foods teenagers love, like wings, burgers, and cheese fries, all for cheap.

Terry's girlfriend, Dana Tan, was sitting next to him and his best friend, Maxine Gibson, was sitting across from him. Dana's friend Chelsea Cunningham was sitting across from Dana complaining about her father's disapproval of her most recent boyfriend, Rick.

"My parents don't like Terry either." Dana sympathized with Chelsea between bites of extra spicy chili.

"Are they crazy? He's a Wayne!" Chelsea replied.

Dana shrugged. "According to my dad, all Waynes are playboys."

"I guess they do have that reputation." Chelsea replied looking at Terry funny.

"I've lived in Gotham my whole life," Max said, "and I've never heard of a Wayne cheating. Sure they play the field quite a lot and they can get a little wild but once they get serious about someone that's it."

"Yeah, Ter, your Dad's wild oats sowing days are still legend." Chelsea said.

"I think that's the fear." Dana said reluctantly.

"That I'm just using you. That you're just one of dozens before I find the one I'm going to get serious about because we're still in high school." Terry sighed.

Dana nodded and Terry could tell the fear wasn't just her parents'.

"Have they met Terry?" Max asked.

"Yeah, I don't think it helped." Dana admitted.

_**Flashback** _

_Terry was standing in the foyer of the Tans' house waiting for Dana with her parents._

" _So, Terry, tell me about yourself." Mrs. Tan said._

" _What do you want to know?" Terry asked._

" _What do you do when you aren't at school?" Mrs. Tan asked._

" _Or doing homework?" Terry joked; Gotham Academy was notorious for their heavy workload. "Normal stuff I guess, hanging out with friends, playing vid games, stuff like that." Terry shrugged. "Sometimes I help with Wayne Foundation or Neon Knights stuff. I spend a lot of time with my family." Terry replied._

" _Family is important." Mrs. Tan said._

_Terry nodded._

" _The men in your family have a less than stellar reputation when it comes to women." Mr. Tan accused._

" _Dad!" Dana exclaimed, finally joining them._

" _No, it's okay Dana." Terry interrupted. "He's right."_

_Mr. Tan looked slightly triumphant._

" _It's not a secret. It's been spelled out on page 8 of the Gazette for generations. Even my grandfather was known as a womanizer before meeting my grandmother." Terry replied._

_That took the Tans by surprise. Bruce Wayne wasn't the only one who had practically sainted his parents, the whole city considered them untouchable. To hear Dr. Wayne's own grandson claim he was anything less than perfect, to taint his reputation, was unimaginable._

" _Sorry to run off, Mr. and Mrs. Tan, but if Dana and I don't get going we're going to miss our movie." Terry said._

" _Have her home by eleven." Mr. Tan said still slightly confused._

" _Of course, sir." Terry replied and they left._

_**End of Flashback** _

"Yeah, but you guys have been together for like ever." Chelsea said. "What's his deal? I mean if Terry was going to flake I think he would have done it by now."

"It changes." Dana said. "Sometimes it's the cancelled dates or something he saw in the paper. Last week he spent 15 minutes ranting about how if Terry was really serious about me, I would have properly met his family by now."

"Really?" Terry asked surprised.

Dana nodded.

"We can do that if it'll help get him off your case." Terry said. "They've been pestering me about it for months but I've been trying to save you the inquisition."

"Really?" Dana was slightly surprised.

"Yeah." Terry replied. "I'll talk to my parents tonight. You're sure? My family can be kind of overwhelming." Terry checked.

"Yeah." Dana nodded.

* * *

Three days later, Terry was sitting in the Gotham Academy cafeteria with Max, his forehead on the table.

"What's the matter, Ter?" Max asked.

"You know that whole thing at Rhino's Saturday?"

"Yeah…" Max said as if it was the stupidest question ever.

"My parents recommended bringing Dana over dinner Friday night."

"Sounds perfect. What's the problem?"

"Somehow Dick found out and it's turned into a Family Dinner." Terry replied, as if that explained everything.

"I still don't get it. Wasn't that the whole point? For her to meet your family?" Max asked.

"Max, Family Dinner means my  _whole_  family is coming."

Max, being the brilliant Gothamite she was, quickly put the pieces together.  _Uh Oh._

"What's the matter with Terry?" Dana asked a minute later when she sat down next to him.

"Your thing Friday got turned into a full on Wayne Family Dinner. I think he's afraid they're going to scare you off." Max replied.

Terry groaned from his spot under his arms on the table.

"It's not a big deal, Ter." Dana told him putting a comforting hand on his head.

"You don't understand, Dana. All of my siblings are coming plus their families, it's going to be like Thanksgiving, in February, without the turkey."

"It'll be fine." Dana replied calmly.

"You're sure?" Terry asked. "I mean I could tell them you had an emergency dance rehearsal or some massive test to study for."

"I'm sure, Terry. I mean, how bad could it be?" Dana replied.

_Famous last words._  Terry thought.

* * *

Terry rang the bell of the Tan's house a little early Friday night knowing some of his brother's had already arrived back at the Manor.

Mr. Tan opened the door, his usual scowl firmly in place.

" _Of course."_  Terry thought. "Good Evening Mr. Tan. Is Dana ready?"

"Not yet, Wayne. What are you two doing tonight?" The overprotective father demanded.

"We're having dinner at home with my family." Terry replied trying really hard not to grimace.

"Your entire family?" Mr. Tan asked speculatively.

"Yes, sir." Terry nodded.

"They don't mind you bringing Dana?" Mr. Tan questioned.

"I think you have it backwards, sir. Dana isn't coming to a Family Dinner. We're having a Family Dinner so everyone can meet Dana." Terry replied.

Mr. Tan looked surprised.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ter." Dana said stepping into the room.

"No problem, my family can entertain themselves for awhile." Terry smiled.

"And Wayne!" Mr. Tan hollered as the teens headed out the door, Dana shouting good-bye over her shoulder.

"I know, I'll have her home by 11." Terry replied.

* * *

Dana watched Terry as he expertly navigated the streets from her house to his. They had been together 2 years, which in high school was like forever, and she thought she knew him pretty well. He didn't tolerate bullies and had gotten in trouble a couple of times for beating someone up to protect someone else, never himself. Few people messed with him because he was a  _Wayne_  and there was a certain prestige that went with being a Wayne. Everyone wanted to be Terry's friend and he was cool with almost everybody but at the end of the day his real friends often fell at the bottom of the social totem poll, the scholarship kids. Not because he liked to lord his wealth over them but because he was a genuine, nice guy and preferred people who were real.

"Nervous?" Dana asked sarcastically. She knew he was nervous.

"A bit. Aren't you?" Terry glanced at her.

"Not really." Dana replied.

Terry sighed.

They chatted their way through the city and Terry merged onto the expressway going north and then crossed over the Kane Memorial Bridge into Bristol. With the cityscape shrinking behind them, the upper-class homes could be glimpsed through the trees that lined the roads. And then the looming wrought iron gates of stately Wayne Manor came into view and Dana's apprehension made itself known.

Several cars were already parked in the long driveway, three on the right and two on the left with plenty of space left for at least a half a dozen more cars and room for everyone to still get in and out quite easily. Terry parked on the left and they walked past the other cars to the door. Three were all high-end ecofriendly SUVs, a Tesla Model X, a Lexus RX Hybrid, and an Audi Q5 TDI. None of which meshed with the bad boy image her father seemed to have of Terry's brothers. The fourth car was a completely insane looking supercar with the most ridiculous side view mirrors Dana had ever seen. That seemed to fit with playboy image the  _Wayne Boys_  were known for and Dana couldn't tear her eyes away from it.

"It's a train wreck, right?" Terry asked noticing Dana had significantly slowed.

"I can't decide if it's incredibly cool or incredibly bizarre." Dana admitted. "What is it?"

"A Zonda. I'm sure Helena would love to show it to you later. She just got it." Terry chuckled.

"Wait, this is your sister's car?" Dana was surprised.

"Yeah." Terry replied with a shrug and a glance back at his Corvette Stingray they had just gotten out of. "We all like fast cars."

Dana glanced at the SUVs and raised an eyebrow at Terry.

"Supercars aren't really practical for everyday use, but we all have a  _drool car_  parked in the garage. Most only get used for special occasions." Terry replied.

"Drool car?" Dana laughed.

"That's what Steph named them. Cars where the most important things are aesthetics, speed, and sound; everything else be damned."

Dana shook her head at Terry's out of character display of wealth.

The last car between them and the door was a Kia Soul that was a couple of years old.

"And the Kia?" Dana almost laughed.

"Nell's." Terry replied simply, but the answer meant absolutely nothing to Dana, so she just shrugged and followed Terry up the half a dozen stairs to the front door.

He unlocked the door and ushered her in ahead of him.

There was a low background noise audible when they came in. Terry took Dana's coat and hung it, and his, in the coat closet by the door. She was just about to tease him about his manners when they heard a female voice in the background yell "They're here."

Terry face palmed and grumbled something about cousins, marriage, and Kansas.

Dana tried not to laugh.

* * *

Dana had seen Mrs. Wayne on the news and in the paper, but it didn't do her justice. Even with the conservative black glasses covering her blue eyes she was gorgeous. She had a wide genuine smile and approached Dana with an extended hand.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Dana. We've heard so much about you." She greeted shaking her hand.

"Mom." Terry muttered embarrassed.

"It's nice to meet you too." Dana replied. "Only good things, I hope."

"Of course." Diana replied, her grin widening even further.

Terry was blushing a little at this point.

"Oh come on, Ter. You know you talk about her all the time." Matt said joining them.

"You don't know what you're talking about, twip." Terry said.

"Don't call your brother a twip." Diana chastised reflexively.

"Hey, Matt." Dana smiled at the younger teen.

"Hey, Dana. How're you doing?" Matt asked.

"I'm okay. You?" Dana replied.

"Good." Matt replied.

"Wait a second." Terry interrupted. "How do you two know each other?"

"We do go to the same school." Matt replied.

Terry opened his mouth with a sharp retort, but Diana interrupted him. "Enough you two."

Both boys grumbled but did as they were told.

"Why don't you two take Dana to the den while I go see if Alfred needs a hand with dinner." Diana said.

* * *

The  _den_ , Dana discovered, was actually two rooms, the family room and the game room.

The family room had a fireplace on the west wall that was flanked by built-in shelving. The space above the fireplace was home to a large family portrait from about 10 years ago. The north wall had the largest picture window Dana had ever seen. The wall was made almost entirely of glass, including the two French doors that led outside to a large brick patio. There were heavy wooden double doors on the south and east walls. The one on the south wall they had just come in and led to the hall. The one on the east wall was propped open to reveal the game room on the other side. The family room was decorated with sturdy comfortable furniture and tastefully framed family photos.

The game room was huge. The entire east wall was a built-in shelving unit. In the center was an enormous TV. The rest of the built-in housed every conceivable gaming console, a multitude of controllers, an incredible game collection and all the necessary hookups. Strategically placed around the TV was seating for 6 and surround sound. The rest of the room was filled with a billiard table, an air hockey table, and a foosball table. Next to the door on the west wall was another built-in cabinet that kept the equipment to turn the pool table into a ping pong table and all the necessary gaming equipment like pool cues, ping pong balls and extra air hockey pucks. The north and south walls of the game room were the same as next door in the family room.

Both rooms were full of people talking and laughing. Some were sitting, some were standing, and one girl was even standing on her hands.

"Welcome to the Mad House." Terry whispered into Dana's ear.

Dana couldn't help but smile.

"I guess it's time I introduce you around." Terry sighed.

Terry led Dana over to a nearby group of women gathered around the fireplace.

"Everybody, this is my girlfriend, Dana." Terry said to the group.

"Dana, this is my sister-in-law Barbara Gordon-Grayson." He said gesturing to a red haired woman in her mid-thirties and the two females shook hands. "This is my Aunt Donna." He said pointing out a dark haired woman about the same age. "My sister-in-law, Tam Fox-Wayne," a beautiful African-American woman that was quite a few months pregnant, "my sister-in-law, Stephanie Wayne, and her beautiful daughter, Evelyn," a vivacious blonde woman in her early thirties and an adorable eighteen-month-old with golden tresses, "and my oldest sister Cassandra." an Asian woman about 30.

Dana greeted all of them and Terry excused them to go meet more people.

On one side of the room a small group of kids was messing around.

"Hey guys." Terry said crouching down closer to their level. "This is my girlfriend, Dana."

"Does that mean you  _kiss_  her?" The smallest boy asked with a disgusted face.

"Yeah, sometimes." Terry replied trying to keep a grin off his face.

"Eww." Both boys chorused. The little girl giggled.

"Dana, this is my nephew Nick," a dark haired 4-year-old with a mischievous glint in his eye, "my cousin Cameron," another dark haired boy a little bit older, "and my niece Annie." a spritely 8-year-old ginger that had been standing on her hands earlier.

They all shook Dana's hand and Dana grinned. Terry shook his head and led Dana into the game room.

Four men in their early to mid thirties were playing pool. The tallest wolf whistled when they came in and the oldest elbowed him in the ribs causing him to grunt. This drew the attention of everyone else in the room and soon they were surrounded. Dana instinctively took a step closer to Terry.

"You did good, little bro." The whistler teased.

"Knock it off, Jay." Terry said. "And you're too old."

"Doesn't mean I can't appreciate a beautiful young lady." Jason flirted.

Terry sighed. "Dana, this piece of slim is my older brother Jason."

Dana laughed when he kissed her hand instead of shaking it. Terry rolled his eyes.

"This is my oldest brother, Dick Grayson." He said introducing the man that had elbowed Jason earlier.

"Don't let Jason get to you." Dick said shaking her hand.

"You'll get used to him." A shorter man said extending his hand.

"Tim Drake-Wayne." Terry introduced "Another older brother."

"And Conner Kent." Terry said finishing off the pool group. "Tim's best friend and my cousin's husband."

"You apparently already know Matt." Terry said skipping over the freshman. "This is my niece, Mar'i Grayson." He said pointing to a teenager with long black hair and solid green eyes.

"You go to GA too, right?" Dana said shaking her hand.

Mar'i nodded. "I'm a freshman, like Matty."

"This is my cousin, Cassie Kent," a shapely blonde woman about thirty, "my middle sister Helena," a woman in her mid-twenties with short black hair, "my youngest, but still older, sister, Alex," a beautiful woman about twenty with long curly black hair, "my youngest older brother, Damian," a slightly older, slightly tanner, more rugged version of Terry, "and his girlfriend, Nell Little." an attractive African-American with wild curly hair and wide brown eyes.

Dana shook everyone's hand and smiled and was genuinely pleased to meet everyone, but she knew there was no way she was going to remember even half of their names.

"Now that all that is out of the way, shall we eat?" Alfred said surprising Terry whom didn't know he was standing behind him.

* * *

 

After Bruce's parents had been murdered dinner at Wayne Manor was quiet and solemn and it stayed that way even several months after Bruce had taken in Dick. From then on though dinner at the manor slowly grew in noise and glee with each new face. Now, Family Dinner at Wayne Manor was a boisterous affair that Thomas and Martha would have been proud of, full of happy smiling couples, rowdy children, sibling rivalry, petty squabbles, and lots of laughter.

The Wayne family had left the seat next to Bruce and across from Diana for Dana and Terry gallantly pulled out the chair for her. Dick shot Terry a teasing look and Terry scowled back at him across the table but the scowl turned to laughter when Dick pulled out the chair for his wife, Barbara. The ginger winked at Dana in a conspiratorial way, and Dana smiled.

As far as Dana was concerned the interrogation at dinner was pretty minor, but she didn't know about the extensive background checks several family members had performed on her this week. Most of the questions she was actually asked were for appearance sake.

"You're attending Gotham Academy on a Wayne Foundation Scholarship for the Arts, correct?" Bruce  _questioned_.

"Yes, sir. Dance." Dana replied calmly.

"What kind of dance?" Diana asked.

"All kinds. Ballet, ballroom, modern, hip-hop, Latin; I just love to dance." Dana explained.

"Do you plan to pursue it after high school?" Bruce asked.

"Yes." Dana replied.

"Her audition for Julliard is in two weeks." Terry added.

"Best of luck." Diana smiled.

"Thanks." Dana said blushing slightly.

"You should bring her to the next Wayne Foundation Gala." Tim suggested.

"Yeah, that way you'd have someone to dance with besides the cougars." Jason joked.

"Maybe he likes the cougars." Damian insulted.

Nell elbowed him in the ribs quite hard, and he let out a wolf of air.

The rest of the meal was similar, someone would ask her a question, she would answer it, and then there would be teasing and laughing and reprimanding, and the cycle would repeat. It was the absolute opposite of Tan family dinners.

The closest the Tans came to a family dinner were the few nights a year her grandmother would eat with them. Those were quiet and serious and formal. The kind of meal where the conversation stuck to current events and manners and etiquette were strictly adhered to and there was always an air of lofty detachment. Even though they were her family and there were only four of them, she still felt like she barely knew them and they barely knew her.

The Waynes were different. There was almost a 20-year gap between the oldest and the youngest of the siblings, but she got the distinct impression they were all involved in each other's lives. Tim asked if Terry was doing any better in calculus, which he had been struggling in all semester. Damian asked about Jason's motorcycle, which had sounded like it was running raw the last time he'd seen him, whatever that meant. Helena asked Tam if they had picked a middle name for the baby yet. Cassie confirmed plans with Stephanie for a shopping trip with Kara and Courtney for the weekend. And so on and so forth right down the table to the kids who, considering the age difference, were getting along fairly well.

Most surprising for her were Mr. and Mrs. Wayne though. Even now, in his forties, the media usually regarded Mr. Wayne as a charming fop, slightly foolish and very lucky, and Mrs. Wayne, his arm candy trophy wife, beautiful and poised, enchanting at parties but easily fading into the background the rest of the time. That was definitely not the couple in front of her. Mr. Wayne was quiet and serious, his eyes doing most of the talking for him and even then only if you were paying very close attention. She had glimpsed a loving look for his wife, pride for one son, disapproval for the actions of another and frustration with another but mostly vague satisfaction. Mrs. Wayne was warm and dynamic, engaging and intelligent. Yes she was poised and beautiful, but it wasn't the kind of beauty that left you feeling cold and insignificant, it was warm and uplifting like it radiated out of her soul rather than her pretty face. Dana wondered how this woman ever faded into the background.

Also surprising was the range in Terry's siblings' personalities. The media tended to lump them together, the Wayne Boys and the Wayne Daughters or the Adopted Waynes, the Bastard Waynes, and the Real Waynes, which always really bothered Terry. In fact though, all of Terry's siblings were very different, it was easily glimpsed at dinner. Dick was chatty and overwhelmingly friendly, Jason acted like a tough guy but was totally whipped by his wife, Cassandra was quiet and watchful, Tim was sweet and shamelessly doted on his wife, Helena managed to pull off rebel princess without looking totally ridiculous, Damian was an odd combination of exceedingly well mannered and completely without tact, Alex was amiable and intelligent, and Matt was imaginative and sometimes a little shy.

The Wayne Wives, as the media called them, had one thing in common, they were all beautiful but that's where the similarities ended. Barbara gave the impression of being very in control and Dana suspected in the Grayson household Dad was the fun one and Mom was the strict one. Stephanie was bright and cheerful and didn't put up with any crap. Tam was independent and supportive, able to stand shoulder to shoulder with her husband in the corporate world and keep him grounded at home. Nell, while not a Wayne Wife yet, though definitely headed that way, was enthusiastic and tough, she called Damian on his bullshit when it mattered and it easily rolled off her when it didn't. It was no wonder the Waynes never cheated, they had each met their match and none of them were stupid enough to let it go. They all seemed like remarkable women and for an instant Dana wondered if she was even in their league. And then Terry smiled at her and the instant passed and she knew it didn't really matter.


End file.
